BEIJING  China is considering imposing new taxes on buyers of big cars to persuade drivers to buy environmentally friendly vehicles, a news report said Monday.

The tax would be as much as 20 percent for cars with an engine capacity of three liters or more, the China Daily newspaper said.

China's cities are among the world's smoggiest after two decades of breakneck economic growth. The government is struggling to reduce the environmental costs, including a rise in respiratory disease, of a rapid increase in the number of car owners.

The new tax proposal has been submitted to the central government, the article said, citing Feng Fei, a member of the Chinese Cabinet's Development and Research Center. The report did not say when the tax might be imposed.